


Born of Iron

by TheDumbestAvenger



Series: Born of Iron [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Parent Tony Stark, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony raises a genius son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:20:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23366068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDumbestAvenger/pseuds/TheDumbestAvenger
Summary: If one thing were true about Kalen, it was that he idolised his father. His one wish in life is to grow up to be even half the man Tony is, and he plans to do just that. After losing his mother, and nearly Tony too, the father-son duo embark on a project to make world a better place.How were they supposed to know where it would lead?or re-telling of MCU storylines if Tony were raising a mini-me with very little self-preservation instinct.(Series Word Count currently ~ 101K)
Relationships: Tony Stark & Original Character(s)
Series: Born of Iron [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1742518
Kudos: 11





	1. When You Smile I am Undone

**January 2009**

Kalen pulled his duvet over his head, trying to block out shuffling noise coming from the sitting room. He didn't dare turn his bedside lamp on. There it was again, followed by soft footsteps and creaking floorboards. The steps grew louder. Kalen imagined a hulking figure stalking down the corridor, a whimper escaped his mouth.

The footsteps froze.

So did Kalen. He didn't move, didn't breath. Didn't even blink. There was a low groan from a floorboard as the intruder started walking again, stopping right outside Kalen's room. He stifled a yelp as the door handle began to turn…

"Hey!" Susan yelled, her voice loud and unwavering. The door handle sprang back.

"You!" Called a gruff voice, "Valuables, now!"

"O-Okay." Susan stammered, sounding the polar opposite of before. Kalen had never heard her so scared.

As he listened to them retreat back to the sitting room, Kalen realised what his mother was doing; getting the intruder as far away from him as possible. Taking a deep breath, he silently slipped out of bed and padded across to the door, cracking it open.

A faint glow lit the corridor. He crept out of his room, casting a glance towards the living room. The attacker had his back to Kalen and appeared to be holding his arms out in front of him, pointing at Susan. She caught his gaze over the man's shoulder and flicked her eyes across the corridor. Kalen followed her vision, eyes landing on her phone resting on a high up shelf. _She must have put it there before calling out._

"I said now!" The attacker growled, forcing Susan further into the sitting room and out of sight. Kalen snuck to the phone, grabbing it up and fumbling to dial 911, slipping inside the bathroom - the closest door to him - to muffle his voice.

The phone rang once… twice… three times... Kalen struggled to keep it together. 

"911, what's your emergency?"

"There's a man in my house. He has my mum." Kalen spoke in barely a whisper, he wasn't sure the operator had heard him when she didn't reply straight away.

"Okay, I've tracked your location, the police are on the way to help you. Try and stay hidden and on the line for me, okay?"

"Okay." He whispered, her calm tone soothed his nerves.

"Is there only one man?"

"I think so."

"Did you see if he had any sort of weapon."

"Um," Kalen thought back, his memory failing him "I'm not sure. He-"

A deafening bang echoed through the house. Kalen jumped, dropping the phone. It clattered to the tiled floor and smashed, the screen fading to black. Kalen's heart hammered in his chest so hard he expected the intruder to hear it.

He snuck out of the bathroom and tiptoed to the living room, peeking around the corner. The attacker was silhouetted against the gentle glow from the lamp, his arms outstretched before him. Holding a gun to Susan's heart. His eyes flitted to the ceiling where a web of cracks in the plaster spread out from a small, circular hole.

"The next one won't be a warning shot." He grunted.

Kalen's heart skipped a beat, he saw his chance to disarm the man. Silently, he stole behind the sofa and crept along its length, now only a few steps away from the intruder.

He steeled his nerve, preparing to pounce.

The next few seconds happened with such speed, Kalen couldn't quite comprehend them. He lunged forward, a pair of arms wrapped around his stomach and tugged him backwards, a hand clamped over his mouth. Blue and red lights flashed through the drawn curtains, sending the room into relative darkness between bursts.

" _Shit! What do we do now?"_

" _Finish it._ "

Kalen struggled against the hands holding him, but they didn't budge. He bit down on the hand over his mouth, gaining a curse and moment of weakness from his captor and broke free.

" _You little-_ " He lurched forward and drove a knife into Kalen's shoulder, pushing it as deep as the hilt before tugging it out. Kalen cried out, clutching the bleeding wound.

"Kalen-" Susan's yell was cut off by a second bang.

Kalen whirled around, his head spinning as blood seeped through his pyjamas, to find his mum staring at a growing patch of red over her heart. She collapsed to the floor, her eyes frantically searching for Kalen.

" _Get outta here! Go!_ "

Falling to his knees, Kalen squeezed his mum's hand. Police rushed into the building, searching for the assailants. 

"Mum?" There was no answer, she just stared through Kalen. As if seeing nothing at all.

* * *

**February 2009**

Kalen hugged his legs to his chest as a cold wind blew in from the sea, patiently waiting for his dad to return home. Until recently, Kalen split his time between Tony's high-tech mansion and his mother's cosy townhouse in Los Angeles. It was strange knowing he'd never go back.

Kalen rubbed his hands together to warm up as the wind blew his black curls into his face. The front door opened behind him and the sound of footsteps grew louder. He looked up into the eyes of Peggy Carter as she draped a thick blanket over his shoulders. Though her hair greyed and her face grew wrinkled, her eyes still shone with the same light they always had. Kalen had spent many hours grilling Peggy about anything and everything Captain America, listening to her every story with rapt attention.

Kalen smiled and wrapped himself in the blanket, already feeling its warmth. “Thanks, Auntie Peggy.”

Peggy squeezed his shoulder, “He’ll be back any minute, I’ll be inside if you need me.”

Kalen returned his attention back to the driveway as Peggy’s footsteps receded. Leaves rustled overhead and a few drops of rain began to fall, Kalen glanced up to see dark clouds had rolled. Dread settled deep in his stomach and his fingers gingerly brushed over the wound in his shoulder.

The rumble of a car engine brought Kalen from his thoughts, he let out a breath as a pair of headlights wound their way closer. He jumped up as the car pulled to a stop, the door opened and Tony Stark stepped out with a stern look on his face.

“It’s past your bedtime, Mister. What are you still doing up?” 

“Auntie Peggy said that ‘as you’re going away tomorrow, I can stay up until you get home,’” Kalen repeated her words. “Oh! Also that ‘you would be too scared to disagree with her.’” He beamed, melting away Tony’s hard expression.

“Well,” Tony thought for a second, “Auntie Peggy is absolutely correct, she’s equal parts scary and terrifying.”

Kalen giggled, his infectious smile spreading across Tony’s face. Tony picked him up in one arm. “If I’m not mistaken, I’m home now. So it’s straight to bed with you.”

Kalen waved over Tony’s shoulder where his personal chauffeur was waiting, “Night, Mister Happy!”

“Goodnight, Kal,” Happy nodded before getting back into the car.

“Do you have to go tomorrow?” Kalen asked as Tony carried him inside.

“You know that I do.”

“But weapons are bad, I don’t get why you make them. They only hurt people.” Kalen shrugged.

“Oh yeah?” Tony said, “What would you suggest I do instead.”

“The arc reactor, for one. Bring clean energy to the whole country, or even the world. Then I’d develop more Intelli-Crops”

“Hmm,” Tony put Kalen down at the foot of the stairs, “Unfortunately, the arc reactor technology is woefully inefficient, even my father couldn’t figure it out. Now, go upstairs and get ready for bed, I’ll come up and read you a story in a few.” Tony ruffled his hair and took the blanket from his shoulders. Kalen leaned around him to say goodnight to Peggy before running upstairs, Tony watched until he disappeared from view.

“Sometimes I forget he’s only eight,” Peggy said from the sofa, “He’s more mature than most people three times his age.”

Tony balled up the blanket and tossed it on the sofa as he sat opposite Peggy. She fixed him with a steely glare, Tony rolled his eyes and folded the blanket before setting it down again.

“I hope you don’t mind me letting him stay up, I thought it was for the best,” Peggy continued.

“You’re never babysitting again.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“No, no I don’t.” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back heavily. “Of course you were right, but I can’t get out of this presentation. Believe me, I’ve tried.

“Kal won’t say it but he’s scared of losing you, too. It’s barely been a month since his mum… You didn’t see the way he reacted when the clouds set in.”

“He’s been having nightmares, that’s why he doesn’t want to sleep. The poor kid is haunted by that night and I have no idea how to help him. What kind of father does that make me?”

“You’re a father that’s there for him when he needs you most. So go and be with him, I can let myself out.”

Tony stood, “Thanks for watching him tonight, see you later.” He climbed the stairs two at a time and entered Kalen’s room. He’d custom-built most of the furniture, his bed was the top half of a bunk bed with stairs leading up, shelves along the wall, and a desk space underneath - currently littered with homework and stationary. More recently, he’d fitted a curtain rail to the ceiling to help Kalen feel safe at night.

Kalen sat cross-legged on top of his duvet. Tony climbed up next to him and drew the curtain shut. “What are we reading then?” Tony reached out and tickled Kalen.

Giggling uncontrollably, Kalen managed to escape his reach and picked a comic off of his shelf and held it up to Tony, “Captain America!”

“ _Again?_ I’ve read it every day for almost a month,” Tony regretted saying it as soon as the words left his mouth.

Kalen dropped his head and traced his fingers over the hero on the front cover. “He never gives up, no matter what. He always gets back up,” he sniffled.

Tony felt his heart shatter as he lifted his son’s chin and wiped away his tears, Kalen leaned forward and buried his face in Tony’s chest. “I know it’s hard, Kay,” Tony rubbed small circles on his back, “but I’ll always be here. That’s a promise,” Tony closed his eyes and kissed Kalen’s unruly curls.

Eventually, they pulled apart and Kalen crawled under the duvet as Tony began to read. He was barely halfway through when Kalen fell asleep, he tucked him in and silently climbed from the bed, hovering in the doorway before turning off the light.

* * *

“Sir.” Called a distant voice in Tony’s dream, pulling back to the real world. “Sir!”

Tony jolted awake, sitting upright and breathing heavily. It took a few seconds to come to his senses. “Jarvis?” He asked, his voice raspy from sleep.

“It’s Kalen, Sir, he had another nightmare.”

Tony threw off his duvet before Jarvis finished his sentence and crossed the hall to Kalen’s room. “Kay,” he said softly, “it’s me, buddy.” He could hear Kalen trying to hold back sobs. Climbing up next to him, Tony pulled Kalen into his arms and held him tightly. “I’m here. It’s okay,” he whispered, “Jarvis, lights.”

Dim lights lit the room. Kalen’s duvet was screwed up in one corner and he was drenched in sweat, his voice was strangled and weak when he spoke. “They were here! They killed mum and were coming for you. I- I couldn’t stop them, I tried but I couldn’t stop them!” Tears spilt over his cheeks.

“Shhh…” Tony calmed. “Look around, it’s just you and me. We’re both safe.”

“I couldn’t stop them…” Kalen whispered again.

Tony squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip to stop himself from crying, he had to stay strong for Kalen. “You did everything you could,” he kissed his forehead. “Do you want to sleep in my bed?”

Kalen nodded. Tony carried him back to his room where Kalen fell asleep clinging to his arm.

* * *

Tony poured milk into two bowls of cereal and carried them to the breakfast bar, set one down in front of Kalen and tucked into the second. Kalen pushed his food around with his spoon, his eyes glazed and unfocused.

“There’s still time before I have to leave,” Tony said between mouthfuls, “and I still haven’t fixed the compression in the Hot rod engine, we should take a look.”

“You want to fix it together!” Kalen grinned, all memories of his nightmare pushed from his mind.

“Sure do. I even thought you should take the lead and I’ll be the glamorous assistant for once.” 

Kalen dropped his spoon, “I- You want me to-”

“Well, if you don’t want to…” Tony shrugged.

“No! I mean yes! I mean, of course!”

Tony tapped Kalen’s bowl as he spoke, “You’d better eat up then,” Kalen picked up his spoon and wolfed down his cereal in record time, putting both bowls in the dishwasher after he’d finished.

They raced each other downstairs to the workshop, just as Kalen was about to win Tony swept him up and spun him around in the air. Kalen giggled when Tony set him down and stumbled sideways as he regained his balance. 

When the dizziness faded, Kalen walked over to the Hot rod and ran his fingers over the flame paintwork. Tony called across the workshop, “Dum-E, bring the toolbox over. If you can manage it,” He muttered the last part under his breath. “Jay, show us the Hot rod schematics on the holo-projector.”

“Right away, Sir,” Jarvis replied, “I think Dum-E might need some assistance, it appears he’s unsure what a toolbox is.”

Dum-E wheeled over to Kalen, offering him a smoothie and chirping to himself. Tony rolled his eyes, “I swear I’m going to donate you to a community college one day.”

“Noooo!” Kalen wrapped his arms around the robot who gave offended beeps.

“Fine,” Tony sighed. “Just don’t drink that smoothie, Dum-E loves putting oil in my coffee, who knows what he could have done.”

Kalen took the smoothie and examined it, he turned the cup upside down and gave it a shake. “Whatever it is, it’s rock-solid,” he laughed. 

Tony shook his head, muttering, and retrieved the toolbox himself. He handed it to Kalen and saluted, “Over to you, Captain.”

Under Tony’s watchful supervision, Kalen finished the repair. Dum-E, thinking he was being helpful, offered Kalen a hammer. “No thank you, Dum-E, I don’t want to ruin what I just fixed,” Kalen said. Dum-E gave an indignant trill and spun around the leave, dropping the hammer in the process and running over it. Tony watched in fascination.

“I don’t know how I created that. You’ve seen U, right? He’s perfectly fine but Dum-E… he’s a mystery.”

“You’re very mean to him, maybe you should be nicer.”

“Did you not hear me when I said he puts oil in my coffee. He’s clearly trying to poison me,” Tony turned back to the Hot rod. “Come on, Captain, let’s finish putting this thing back together.” Kalen skipped back to the engine and knelt, working swiftly to reconstruct the engine.

The door hissed open, Pepper Potts walked in juggling a phone, clipboard, and stack of papers. “You’re supposed to be halfway around the world by now,” she frowned.

“Why are you trying to hustle me outta here?” Tony asked.

“Because your flight was supposed to leave over an hour ago.”

“Funny, seeing as it’s my plane and all, I thought it would leave when I get there. Kind of defeats the purpose otherwise.”

Pepper watched Kalen work at the engine, “What’s going on here?” She smiled.

Kalen finished tightening a bolt and jumped up, “Dad’s letting me fix the engine, and he keeps calling me Captain. I feel like a superhero!” he grinned. 

Tony couldn’t hold back a smile. This was a rare glimpse at the ‘old Kalen’, the person who bounced through life carefree and joyous, not the person whose eyes held darkness from something he should never have witnessed.

Kalen was still beaming as he ran to the other side of the workshop and returned with a neatly wrapped present which he gave to Pepper, “Happy birthday!” He bounced on his toes as she unwrapped the gift. A warm smile crept onto her face and she held it up for Tony to see. A photo of the three of them, with Rhodey and Happy, on Kalen’s last birthday.

“It’s great, Kal. I love it.” She turned to Tony, “Speaking of things we love, it’s great when people follow the intricate schedule I’ve set out for them,” she pressed the clipboard to Tony’s chest, “These need signing.”

“I don’t like being-” Pepper cut Tony off with a glare, he signed the papers and handed them back.

“Thank you, Mister Stark. Rhodey’s waiting for you on the plane, he’s not very happy about it. Thank you very much for the present, Kal. I’ll see you upstairs,” She shot a final glare at Tony and left the workshop.

When she’d gone, Tony spoke. “You could have told me it was her birthday.”

“It’s the same day it was last year when I reminded you,” Kalen pointed out.

“Good point,” he nodded to the Hot rod, “Let’s get this finished, shall we?”

Kalen shook his head, “Uncle Rhodey’s waiting for you, you have to go.”

Tony sighed, “I suppose you’re right. Come on.” He led Kalen upstairs where Pepper had already collected his bags. “Right, Kay, be good for Pepper-”

“I’m always good.” Kalen cut in.

Tony shook his head, “Nope, you’re a menace. I don’t know how we put up with you.” It was Kalen’s turn to roll his eyes but Tony continued unfazed, “Be good for Pepper because she’s the best assistant I know and I don’t want her quitting on me,” he tugged on some shoes. “I love you, Kay. I’ll see you later,” Tony picked his words carefully, knowing Kalen hated goodbyes.

“See you later,” Kalen mumbled. He watched Tony drive down the driveway and disappear.


	2. Dying is Easy, Living is Harder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kalen receives news of Tony's disappearance in Afghanistan and struggles to pretend everything is fine until he meets an unexpected friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took quite so long to get this chapter out, you'd have thought quarantine would make me write more, apparently not

Kalen’s grip tightened on the sofa, turning his knuckles white, and he forced his breathing to remain calm.

His heart _hurt_. As if there was a piece missing.

“Kalen…?” Pepper urged him to speak.

He didn’t. He couldn’t. There was _nothing_ to say. 

Kalen scrambled to his feet. His heart hammered in his chest and his eyes wet with tears.

“Missing...? H- How can dad be missing?”

“They were attacked after the presentation, Tony hasn’t been seen since,” Pepper explained, “Rhodey’s still searching for him.” A flicker of light crossed Kalen’s face, Pepper immediately regretted giving him hope when the chances of Tony returning were slim at best. 

“Uncle Rhodey will find him,” Kalen muttered, Pepper started to speak but Kalen shouted over her. “He _will_ find him!” She flinched back at his outburst, Kalen dropped his head and whispered, “I’m sorry. I....” He turned and ran for the stairs.

“Kal, wait!” Pepper called. Kalen raced upstairs and slammed his bedroom door behind him, sinking to the floor as his tears finally fell. Screaming, he hammered his fists against the door and flung books off their shelves. Shouting and crying as his emotions overwhelmed him.

The door flew open, Pepper ran in and wrapped her arms around Kalen. He fought and struggled to get free but Pepper held him still, they sank to their knees. Kalen sobbed until more tears refused to come.

Kalen slept on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, his Captain America comic dropped to the floor. Pepper padded over, careful not to wake him, and moved the comic to the coffee table. She studied the page; Captain America faced off against an enormous Hydra army yet, despite the impossible odds, he stood his ground. Pepper was about to turn the page when the doorbell rang, she winced and cast a glance at Kalen but, to her relief, he remained sound asleep and she crept to the door.

Happy’s face was devoid of emotion but his hands trembled at his sides. “Tell me it’s not true.”

“I can’t. I’m sorry…”

Happy closed his eyes as her words sank in. He took a deep breath to steady himself before opening his eyes again. “How’s Kal? What can I do to help?”

“He trashed his room but I managed to calm him down,” Pepper pointed to the sofa, “He fell asleep reading a comic a few minutes ago. I don’t know what to do, Happy.” Her voice wavered.

Happy sighed, “Me neither. But I’m here for both of you. I can clear up his room if you want?”

Pepper smiled for the first time since hearing the news. “That would be great, thank you so much, Happy.”

“It’s really no problem,” Happy sighed. “What do you think Tony’s chances are?” Pepper could only shake her head in response. He glanced at Kalen curled up on the sofa, “Poor kid…”

Tony first met Susan Conway in a bar in Downtown Los Angeles, neither had expected their no-strings-attached fling to come with one major string firmly attached. When Tony found out he would soon become a father, his immediate reaction was panic. Panic that he wouldn’t be a good father, that he’d take after his own father’s parenting style. That day he made a promise, to himself and his child, that no matter what he would be there. 

They decided not to tell the world about Kalen, at least to begin with, choosing instead to keep him out of the media spotlight. As time went on, the perfect time to reveal the truth never appeared so Kalen remained a secret. Tony frequently checked Kalen was okay with this, it turned out Kalen was okay with anything so long as he could still tinker in Tony’s workshop.

Unfortunately, all of this meant Kalen’s classmates were unaware they were loudly discussing the possibilities of how his father was dead or dying in a desert. He threw himself into schoolwork to distract himself, hoping to make Tony proud when he returned. 

Because he _would_ return. That’s what Kalen kept telling himself.

Kalen hunched over his desk, trying to block out his classmate’s conversations, and focused on his geometry worksheet. He breezed through it in a matter of minutes and raised his hand.

The maths teacher, Mrs Parsons, looked up, “Yes?”

“I’ve finished,” Kalen replied.

“Every question?”

Kalen thought it was a dumb question, “Of course, I wouldn’t be finished if not.” 

Mrs Parsons raised an eyebrow, “Bring it here, let me check.” Kalen took his sheets up to the front and handed them over. She flicked through them quickly then looked up at Kalen, “Where are your working outs?”

“I did it in my head, it’s just multiplication.”

She handed the papers back, “Do it again, and this time with your workings.”

Kalen sighed and walked back to his seat, catching eyes with the new boy who’d joined class today. The corkscrew curls in his hair were jet black and he seemed to have a permanent, lopsided smile. He was the only one not talking about Tony and kept glancing over his shoulder at Kalen, who pretended not to notice. 

The lunch bell rang just as Kalen finished redoing the final question, he handed over his work without saying a word and left the classroom. He stopped off at his locker to put away his books when someone snuck up beside him shoved him to the floor, sending the contents of his bag sprawling across the corridor.

“What are you doing down there?” They jeered, Kalen immediately recognised the voice as Reece Hammer, son of Tony’s business rival Justin Hammer - or, would-be rival if Justin ever created something that worked. Unfortunately for Kalen, it seemed the whole school wanted to be friends with the son of a billionaire, no matter how spiteful he was.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, _Conway_ , are you deaf as well as stupid?” The older boy emphasised his mother’s name and a pang of longing shot through Kalen. Reece took extra glee seeing the hurt on his face.

Reece aimed a kick at Kalen’s ribs, he let out an involuntary yelp. Reece crouched down and hissed in his ear, “He’s dead, you know that right? He’s never coming back. Ever.” He stalked off, laughing, followed by his entourage of friends.

Kalen didn’t want to get up. Try as he might, he couldn’t shake the voice in the back of his mind telling him Reece was right. It grew louder with every day that passed and never seemed to quiet, wearing down his belief of Tony’s eventual return. Still, Kalen took a deep breath and pushed himself up, wincing through the pain in his ribs, and started gathering his belongings. A friendly face with deep brown eyes appeared in front of him holding a stack of books with a lopsided smile. Kalen took the books and stuffed them in his backpack, “Thanks,” he murmured.

“No problem,” the boy smiled, “that guy seems like a jerk. 

“He is,” said Kalen, “I had to spend loads of time with him when I was little.”

“That doesn’t sound fun. I’m Jason, by the way, it’s my first day”

“Yeah, we’re in the same maths class.”

Jason’s smile grew, “I wasn’t sure if you’d noticed, you seemed so focused on the work. Did you mind if I sit with you at lunch? Only I don’t know anyone yet and you seem really cool, you finished all those questions, _twice_ , so quickly! And I thought I was good at maths.”

A smile pulled at Kalen’s mouth, “You seem really cool too.”

  
  


* * *

**May 2009**

Days stretched to weeks, then into months. Rhodey refused to give up looking for Tony; Kalen overheard him telling Pepper how he felt responsible on one of his few visits back to America and tried, to no avail, to convince him otherwise. Pepper and Obidiah worked day and night to keep Stark Industries under control while the Board of Directors demanded answers they couldn’t give and share prices plummeted.

Happy took to his role as godfather like a duck to water. He cherished Kalen as he would his own son so when he came home from school with bruised ribs, Happy offered to give him boxing lessons. Party to defend himself, but partly to take his mind off his missing father. 

“Keep your elbows in, yeah just like that, perfect. Now try a one-two,” Happy held up his boxing mitts as Kalen delivered the punches with surprising power. “Pivot on your back foot for the two,” Happy advised, “you’ll have a much stronger hit that way.” 

They practised into the evening, when Happy noticed the time he called for a stop. “What do you want for tea?” He asked, “Pepper’s on her way over, I’ll ask her to pick something up for us on the way.”

“Can we have cheeseburgers?”

Happy smiled and his eyes glistened with tears. “Of course we can.”

In the three months, they’d known each other, Jason and Kalen got on better than either had imagined. They spent every moment at school together, ate lunch away from the crowd in an empty English classroom, sat next to each other in every lesson. Jason made lots of friends very quickly, something about his personality was just instantly likeable, though he always preferred spending time with Kalen. 

Though he wanted to, Kalen didn’t reveal who he was to Jason. He’d come very close when he burst into tears one lunchtime but stopped himself. Jason didn’t pry, it was obvious Kalen didn’t want to talk about it, but he knew something big was wrong. From that moment on he filled their silences with stories and laughter, hoping to bring Kalen from inside his mind. 

It was one such lunchtime when Kalen’s laughter stopped abruptly and his eyes widened. He stared at his ringing phone - which Happy had only brought for him in case there was any news on Tony - and tried to push down a rising bubble of fear in his chest. 

“Kal, what’s wrong?” Jason asked. 

“My phone…” He muttered as he answered the call. “Hello?” Kalen locked eyes with Jason, seeking out comfort as he dreaded the worst. 

“Hey Kal,” Happy’s voice was full of life in a way it hadn’t been in months. Kalen allowed himself a shred of hope. “Rhodey found him, I just got off the phone. Tony’s alive.”

“What…?” Kalen whispered as tears brimmed in his eyes. 

“He’s beaten up pretty badly but they say he’ll be fine in a matter of weeks. I’m on my way to pick you up now, we’ll meet his plane when he lands.”

“Are you serious?” By now Kalen was beaming from ear to ear.

“Of course! Kal, he’s really coming home.” Kalen said a rushed goodbye and hung up the phone, hurrying to grab his backpack.

“What was that about?” Jason asked, confused but smiling anyway. “I’ve never seen you this happy. Ever.”

“I got some good news, _really_ good news,” he hugged Jason in his excitement.

“This is new,” Jason laughed, squeezing him back.

“I really have to go,” Kalen pulled away, “Right now.”

“What should I tell Mrs Parsons?”

Kalen shrugged, “I’m sick? I don’t know, sorry. I need to go. See you tomorrow!” Kalen ran from the room and sprinted through the corridors, ignoring the baffled looks he was getting from other students. He skidded around a corner and ran headlong into Reece. They stumbled apart, Reece’s lip curled and he growled, “What the hell are you doing, Conway? You could’ve broken my nose!”

Kalen grinned, “Thanks for thinking I’m strong enough.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Reece grumbled. He took in Kalen’s smile, “Why are you so happy? Forgot you’re an orphan now, did you?” He jeered.

“Do me a favour and read the news tomorrow, if you can manage it. Maybe you can just look at the pictures.”

“How dare you!” Reece roared, gaining odd stares from other students. “You know I can read.”

“Thinking about it, I’ve never seen you read. Maybe you take after your dad.”

“My dad’s the CEO of a billion-dollar company. If you keep this up you’ll certainly take after your dad.”

“Don’t try and hide it, Justin hasn’t created anything himself for years. He just steals other people’s ideas and sells them as his own.” 

Reece’s face turned red and he swung a punch at Kalen’s head, he saw it coming and ducked with ease. Reece stumbled forward and almost fell, a few of the watching students snickered. Kalen dashed down the corridor, Reece’s footsteps echoing after him, and outside where Happy was just pulling up to the school gate. He flung the door open and dived inside.

Happy pulled away fast, “Kal, why is Hammer’s kid chasing you.”

“I probably deserve it,” Kalen admitted, “but right now I just want to see dad again.”

Happy smiled “Rhodey’s bringing him home now, you don’t have to wait long.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter - the reunion


	3. I'm Dedicating Every Day to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Kalen reunite again. After a brief stop at Burger King, Tony reveals a life-changing secret to Kalen while Reece plots his revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually got this updated on time! I've finished writing all of the Iron Man film and just started on Iron Man 2 so hopefully should be able to keep the updates regular from now on.

Three lone figures stood in St Edwards Air Force Base which, thanks to Rhodey, had been deserted for Tony's return. Luckily, very few people were brave enough to argue with his orders. 

Kalen bounced on his toes as the plane door inched open. Tony struggled to his feet as he came into view, leaning on Rhodey to keep his weight off of his injured knee. Cuts and bruises littered his face; dark circles had taken up permanent residence under his eyes while his right arm rested in a sling. Not to mention the glowing circle in his chest, barely visible through his shirt. Tony's eyes lit up upon seeing Kalen and he stood a little straighter, despite the obvious pain on his face.

Unable to wait a moment longer, Kalen dashed forward and sprinted up the ramp. Tony dropped to one knee and wrapped his arm around Kalen, whispering in his ear. "I missed you so much, Kay." He pressed a kiss to his forehead, "I'm never going to leave you again."

"I missed you too," Kalen pulled Rhodey into the hug, "Thanks for bringing him home! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" 

Rhodey wiped tears from his eyes and opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out, Tony grinned and spoke for him. "Come on, Captain." He took Kalen's hand and led him back to Pepper. "Your eyes are red," he said, "Few tears for your long lost boss?"

"Tears of joy, I hate job hunting." Pepper smiled.

"Yeah, vacation's over," Tony turned to Happy and clapped him on the shoulder. "Thank you for looking after Kay, really. Thank you."

"It was no problem." Happy assured.

"Mister Happy started giving me boxing lessons!" Kalen chirped.

"Did he now? You'll have to show me your moves when we get home, but first, I want a cheeseburger. Anyone else?"

"Me!" Kalen bounced up on his toes and waved his hand in the air. Tony looked around, purposefully not noticing, "Huh, no one? Guess it's cheeseburgers for one."

"Daaaad!" Kalen moaned.

"Oh! Did you want one too? Should’ve said something." He turned to Pepper, "Cheeseburgers, then a press conference."

* * *

Kalen lent on the windowsill at the back of the conference hall, third cheeseburger in hand, while Pepper talked with a man from a very long-named company. The room was packed with press cameras and interviewers, some sporting recorders while others stuck to the old fashioned pen and notepad. 

Applause erupted from outside, Kalen turned to see Tony step out of a car into Obidiah's waiting arms. Happy jumped out of the front seat and offered Tony the last cheeseburger they'd brought before arriving. The applause doubled as Tony made his way inside, catching eyes with Kalen across the room he raised his burger in a toast. Kalen copied the action with a cheery grin. Cameras flashed as Tony reached the press and interviewers didn't waste a second to shout their questions. Usually, Kalen avoided press conferences, he found them too loud and sometimes too intrusive into Tony's private life. Still, he wasn't ready to face being away from his father after being divided for so long.

Tony settled the cameras a quick wave as he advanced through the crowd to the podium where, to everyone's surprise, he sat and leaned back against it. "Would it be alright if everybody sat down?" He called, "That way you can see me and I can… Just a little less formal," Kalen noticed darkness behind his eyes as he spoke. Unease settled in his stomach.

"I never got to say goodbye to my father," Tony announced. He caught eyes with Kalen, thinking how the legacy had almost continued. "I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted or had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch that man we remember from the newsreels." Tony shifted and turned his head so Kalen couldn't see his face, "While in Afghanistan, I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to keep them safe." Tony paused as he mulled something over. Interviewers jumped at the possibility to have their questions answered, calling his name. He nodded to someone in the front row.

The reporter leaned forward, pen in hand. "What happened over there?"

"I had my eyes opened." Tony stood and moved behind the podium. "I came to realise I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. That's why I'm shutting down all weapons manufacturing at Stark Industries…"

The rest of his speech was lost in the sudden outburst of voices as everyone clambered to their feet and shouted questions. Obidiah sprang to his feet and ushered Tony back from the podium while trying to regain control of the crowd. Tony met eyes with Kalen and nodded to the back entrance where Happy was waiting to pick them up, Kalen slunk out unnoticed, followed a minute later by Tony.

* * *

Kalen snuggled closer to Tony, listening to the gentle hum of the arc reactor in his chest. He found its glow comforting, a sign his father was alive. They sat on the sofa watching Ratatouille, though by Tony's vacant stare it was obvious his mind was far away, he wasn't the only one struggling to focus.

"How did you escape?" Kalen asked.

Tony sat up straighter. "How do you know I was captive? Did Rhodey tell you? Pepper?" 

Kalen shook his head, "I guessed. People can't survive alone in the desert for three months. It's kind of obvious."

Tony hesitated, Kalen was much sharper than he'd given him credit for, so how would he react to the truth? Tony let out a long breath and wrapped his arm around Kalen. "While I was captive I realised I've made a lot of mistakes, with the company for one, but also with you. Before you were born, I promised I'd always be around for you, and I haven't kept that promise. I haven't always done what's best for you, but from now on, I promise you will always be my number one priority. You're the most important part of my life and it's way past time I act like it."

Kalen hugged him, "You're the best dad anyone could ask for. You don't need to change."

Tony squeezed him tighter and kissed the top of his head before staring at the wall for a long moment. "You want to know how I escaped? Well, I built a suit of armour and flew out."

Kalen laughed, waiting for the real answer. He bolted upright when Tony didn't speak again, his mouth falling open.

"Here," Tony paused the film. "I'll show you." They went down to the workshop. Tony sat behind his desk while Kalen wheeled over a chair, watching as Tony brought up various files and, eventually, a blueprint of the armour he'd described. Kalen lapped up each detail with wide eyes.

"I think we can make something of this, something good," Tony said as he dragged the blueprint over to a holo-projector. Kalen jumped up and spun the projection around as he examined the work.

"You built this in a cave?" He gasped in awe.

Nodding, Tony moved to stand beside him, "Imagine what we can do with the proper equipment, resources…" He trailed off as their minds raced. Tony swiped away some of the bodywork. "This'll be unnecessary. Then this can be streamlined…" He spun the projection around.

"What about a power source? It's going to need something big."

Tony tapped the reactor in his chest, "It needs some upgrades, but I'm confident we can make it work. So, are you in?"

* * *

Kalen hopped on the school bus and took the seat next to Jason, slinging his backpack on the floor he grinned. "Hey."

"Not gonna run out again, are you?" Jason teased.

Kalen shook his head, "Nope. Sorry about that."

"I don't mind that you left, but I am annoyed that I didn't see you stand up to Reece. I don't care who his dad is; it doesn't mean he can get away with being a jerk. By the way, Mrs Parsons is angrier with you than usual after you skipped."

Kalen dropped his head into his hands, "She's already got it out for me," he sighed.

The bus fell silent as Reece got on at the next stop. It seemed news had spread fast. Kalen sunk as low as he could in his seat and hoped Reece wouldn't see him. Of course, he did.

Reece grabbed Kalen's collar and dragged him to his feet. Kalen struggled to free himself. "Tell everyone the truth, how you lied yesterday." Reece hissed.

"I didn't lie." Kalen managed to escape his grasp. A glance around told him every student was watching the confrontation.

"Tell them, or I'll tell everyone your secret."

Jason jumped to his feet, "Leave him alone!"

Reece forced a laugh, "Do you need your little boyfriend to stand up for you?" Kalen kept his mouth firmly shut. Reece stepped back and addressed the whole bus, "You all think what he said yesterday is true, but it's not, and I can prove it. He's been lying for years, his real da-"

"Boys!" The bus driver called, drowning out Reece's words. "Let's just sit down, shall we." It wasn't a question. Her stern glare forced Reece to give in and take his seat at the back of the bus. Kalen felt every pair of eyes watch as he and Jason sat down.

Kalen leaned over and whispered, "You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did. I wasn't going to let Reece get away with treating you like that."

"Thank you." Kalen nudged Jason's arm and smiled.

"You know, I was nearly late today. My little brother wouldn't leave me alone all morning. I had to run to get the bus in time."

"I thought you'd be okay with that. You don't like school all that much."

"I _didn't_ like school," Jason corrected, "but I do now. You make it so much fun." Jason rolled his eyes as Kalen broke out in a goofy grin. "I'll take it back if you keep smiling like that." Kalen bit his lip to stop himself smiling, holding eye contact with Jason. A smile spread across Jason's face and they burst into fits of laughter.

* * *

Tony and Kalen spent every second of free time in the workshop working on an upgrade for the arc reactor. They had Jarvis run countless tests on the current one, extrapolating data and running simulations on potential designs until, eventually, they found one powerful enough to sustain both Tony and a suit.

It took another few days to create the reactor, Dum-E often acting more as a hindrance than a help. He offered up one of his signature smoothies to Kalen and offered Tony a coffee. "If there is oil in this, just take it away else I'm going to strip you for parts," Tony warned. Dum-E chirped and lifted the cup closer. Tony took it gingerly and examined the contents, he took a sip and promptly spat it back out and roared. "Dum-E!"

The robot sped across the workshop as Tony reached out to grab him. Kalen tried to hide his laugh behind his hand. Tony spun around. "Are you laughing, right now?" He pointed to the cup, "This is proof he's trying to poison me!"

"Sure it is," Kalen nodded as he forced a serious on look face. Tony raised an eyebrow at him.

"To think, not even my son cares for my murder," He nodded to the half-complete reactor, "Back to work, Captain."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dum-E's murder plot continues...
> 
> Next chapter should be on the 24th - so long as I remember to upload it  
> If you have any suggestions as to what you'd like to see, please let me know!


	4. The Sky's the Limit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long summer holiday spent in Tony's workshop, it's finally time to test the suit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another on time chapter! *Self high fives*

Kalen leaned against the edge of a table in Mr Harrel’s English room, eating lunch while Jason finished his homework. “I tried to do this yesterday, but my little brother _would not_ leave me alone to concentrate.” Jason moaned.

Kalen shrugged, “Maybe he just likes spending time with you.”

“Sure, but it doesn’t mean I want him right next to me _all day!”_

“I’d love to have a brother, a real one I mean.”

“Real one? What does that mean?” Jason put down his pencil and looked up at Kalen.

Kalen dropped his head, “Well, I have a brother, Zach. He has a different dad and is much older than me. He and mum didn't get along, argued a lot, so he moved away as soon as he could.”

“Why don’t you call him?” Jason suggested.

“I don’t know his number, neither does dad…” He trailed off, “I don’t even know if he knows about mum.” Kalen decided to change the subject. “What about the summer holiday, are you doing anything fun?”

Jason's eyes lit up with excitement, “We’re going to Spain! It’s the first time I’ve ever been away before ‘cause dad’s always moving for work, but he’s staying here for a while.”

“That’s going to be so awesome! Do you speak Spanish?”

“I know a little. I bet you’re fluent, though.”

“ _Si quieres aprender, puedo enseñarte_ ,” Kalen grinned, Jason looked blank, “If you want, I can teach you.”

“That would be the best, thank you!” He beamed, “What about you?”

Kalen hesitated, “Uhh… I’ve got a secret project.”

“So secret even your best friend can’t know?” Jason playfully punched his arm.

Kalen shook his head, “Sorry.” He pointed to Jason’s half complete homework, “Focus, that’s due next lesson.”

* * *

**August 2009**

The first suit tests were explosive. Not in a cool way, in a singed-eyebrows-and-burned-floors kind of way. Tony’s upgraded arc reactor proved more than capable of providing sufficient power and, after months of modifications, the pair were ready for the first flight test.

Tony wore two silver leg pieces that would become part of the final suit and carried handheld controls for the thrusters. Dum-E, for lack of better option, was on fire extinguisher duty while U documented the experiment. “Okay, let’s do this right," Tony walked to the centre of the test space, each footstep accompanied by the hum of the internal machinery followed by the heavy thud of metal. “Captain, you ready?”

“Yup!” Kalen sat crosslegged next to U. He glanced down at a Stark-Tablet resting on his lap that had various controls for the suit.

“Alright,” Tony readied himself. “Activate my hand controls, let's start nice and easy at ten per cent thrust capacity; see if we can achieve lift.”

Kalen tapped at the tablet, “Done. U’s rolling, Dum-E’s on safety. I think we’re ready.”

“Okay, then. In three… Two… One,” Tony squeezed the controls, activating the foot thrusters, and fired into the air at breakneck speed. He crashed into the sloped roof before dropping to the floor with a thunk. Dum-E, amid panicked beeping, doused him with the fire extinguisher and panicked beeps as Kalen jumped to his feet.

“Thank you, Dum-E,” Kalen squeaked as he jumped to his feet, the robot backed off. Kalen dashed around a worktable where the cloud from the fire extinguisher dissipated. He edged closer, “Dad? Are you okay?”

Tony groaned, “Yeah, yeah I think so,” He tried to sit up, Kalen rushed to help him. “That was only ten per cent?” He asked, touching his hand to a cut on his forehead, it came away bloody.

“Yeah,” Kalen grabbed a clean cloth from the worktable and handed it to Tony, “It’s a lot more powerful than we thought.”

“Certainly looks that way.”

Kalen grinned, “I think we achieved lift, at least.”

  
  


“I’ve been buzzing you, did you hear the intercom?” Pepper walked into the workshop a few days later, holding a square package wrapped in brown paper with two glasses of juice balanced on top. “Obidiah’s upstairs, what do you want me to tell him…” She trailed off as she took in the scene around her.

The workshop was a mess of scrawled designs, every surface littered with equipment, prototypes or tech for the final suit. Pepper brushed aside some sketches to make space for the package. Tony sat at a workstation, fitting his arm into a prototype piece resting on a stand, while Kalen fastened it shut. He glanced up at Pepper, his eyes lingering on the juice glasses, “Really, Pep? I’m a grown man.”

“Hey! Juice is good,” Kalen chipped in. Tony raised a sceptical eyebrow.

“Plus, I don’t want you to get Kal hooked on coffee, one of you is bad enough.” She nodded to the prototype arm, “I thought you finished making weapons.”

“He is, it’s not a weapon.” Kalen helped Tony lift his arm from the stand, Tony braced it with his other hand and held out his palm.

“It’s a flight stabiliser,” Tony explained. “Completely harmless. Kay, do your thing.”

Kalen's fingered hovered over the control tablet. “Are you sure you don’t want to lower the power level.”

“I’m sure,” Tony assured. Kalen hit the button. The prototype gave a deep whir, building to a high pitched whine until an energy burst exploded from the palm and sent Tony sprawling backwards. “I didn’t expect that…” Tony mumbled from the floor.

“I tried to warn you after last time,” Kalen muttered.

“Last time?” Pepper exclaimed. “Actually, I don’t want to know. I’ll be upstairs, don't take too long.” She muttered to herself as she left. Kalen pulled Tony to his feet and returned the prototype arm piece before offering him one of the glasses. Tony downed the juice in one and stared at the empty glass. 

“Wow. That's good stuff.” Tony said. Kalen giggled as he sipped his drink, “Listen, Obi only wants to talk about boring company stuff so why don’t you go and get an early night, it’s the first day back at school tomorrow.”

“But dad-” Kalen moaned.

“Night Captain.” 

* * *

**September 2009**

Kalen watched the school bus pull up. Letting the older kids get on first, Kalen hopped aboard and went to his usual seat next to Jason. “Hey!" He chirped. "How was Spain?” 

“It was amazing! We saw the Alhambra _and_ Córdoba. Your Spanish lessons definitely helped, _muchas gracias_.”

Kalen grinned, “No problem.”

Jason leant closer and whispered, “How’s the secret project?”

“It’s difficult, but I think we’ve almost cracked it, we’ve made a lot of progress over summer.”

“We?”

“Me and my dad, we’re doing it together.”

“You don’t talk about him much, what’s he like?” There was a hint of something Kalen couldn’t place in Jason’s eyes.

Kalen smiled, “He’s the best, so clever and funny. He’s my hero.” Jason tried to probe further, but at that moment, the bus pulled into the school and they joined the crowd of students heading inside.

Kalen struggled to contain his excitement. Today was _the_ day. After months of designing, tweaking and experimenting the final suit was ready - well, almost, Jarvis was fabricating the final pieces. Kalen impatiently walked around the workshop, fiddling with tools and looking over scribbled designs. He picked up the package Pepper had delivered days before, “Hey, Dad. You never opened Auntie Pepper’s gift.”

Tony looked over from his desk, Kalen held up the package to show him. “Bring it over here,” he beckoned. 

“It’s heavy,” Kalen noted as he handed it over, “What do you think it is?”

“No idea,” Tony ripped open the paper and revealed a glass case with his old arc reactor mounted inside, an inscription surrounding it. Kalen read it out loud.

“‘Proof Tony Stark has a heart’.” He giggled, “Maybe she doesn’t hate you after all.”

Tony smiled, “Maybe not…” He studied Kalen’s face. “You look exhausted, did you have another nightmare?” Kalen nodded. Tony pulled him onto his lap and wrapped an arm around him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” Kalen sighed. "It was about mum again."

Tony rested his chin on Kalen’s shoulder as he mulled over what to say. “The men who attacked you are in prison, now. And they're never getting out again, they won't hurt you again.”

Kalen slid to the floor and turned to face Tony, his eyes misty with tears, and shouted, "What about the people who took you? You say we're safe, but they took you away from me! I thought you were... That I'd never see you again. What if they come back?"

Tony's expression melted, "Those people were only able to catch me because I wasn't careful, I left Rhodey. But I'm not doing that anymore. I'm staying right here with you."

A small smile lit Kalen's lips, "Good." He nodded.

"Sir," Jarvis' voice echoed through the workshop, "The fabrication is complete."

Kalen and Tony shared a long look before Tony got to his feet. “It’s now or never, Captain.”

Kalen skipped across the room to grab the Stark-Tablet and fitted a comms piece to his ear. Tony stepped onto the assembly plate, bouncing on the spot and shaking out his arms. When he was ready, he nodded for Kalen to start the assembly machine.

A sleek, silver suit began to build itself around Tony, working just as they’d designed. Kalen watched, mouth agape, as the machine screwed the final bolts into place. He pressed his finger to the earpiece, “Dad? Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear.” Came Tony's response. “Jarvis, in this thing?”

“For you, Sir, always.”

“Great. Engage heads-up display and import all preferences from the home interface. You see all this, Captain?”

Kalen pulled up Tony’s heads-up display on his tablet and watched as Jarvis calibrated himself, throwing up Tony’s altitude, location, and even the model of the cars parked along the wall. “Yeah, I’ve got your visual…” He switched the tablet to show the suit statistics, “and the stats seem working perfectly.”

Tony turned to Kalen and held out his arms, “How do I look?” Kalen circled him, taking in everything from the large metal plates down to each rivet. Tony’s arc reactor shone in the centre of the chest plate, and his eyes glowed the same colour. 

“You look like a superhero.” Kalen breathed, hardly believing what he was seeing. “Does it fly?”

“There are still terabytes of calculations before you attempt an actual flight,” Jarvis warned.

“Jarvis, sometimes you gotta run before you can walk.” Tony switched the heads-up display to flight mode, Kalen backed away to give him space. “Ready? In three… Two… One…”

The repulsors fired up and lifted Tony inches off the floor, thanks to the flight stabilisers he stayed entirely in control. Leaning forward, he amped-up the power and shot out of the workshop, whooping with joy as he went. 

Kalen ran out after him, the cold night air blowing his hair and t-shirt but Kalen didn't care. Transfixed on the sky, he watched Tony soar through the air, twisting and spinning as if it were nothing as elated cheers escaped them both.

“Handles like a dream,” Tony shouted, he angled himself straight upward. “Alright, let’s see what this thing can do. Jarvis, what’s SR-71’s record?”

“Eighty-five thousand feet,” Kalen replied.

“He’s correct, Sir.”

“Records are made to be broken!” Tony pushed the suit to full capacity and climbed until only the distant light of the repulsors was visible. Kalen watched Tony’s visual on the tablet, flying up towards the moon and stars.

A warning popped up, Kalen switched the tablet to view the suit statistics. The thrust capacity was plummeting. “Uh… Dad, what’s happening?”

“There is a potentially fatal build-up of ice occurring,” Jarvis informed.

“Keep going!” Tony shouted. Kalen gripped the sides of the tablet, the display flickered and faltered before going black. A message lit up, _Disconnected._

“Dad?” He shouted, pressing his earpiece closer and searching the sky for the light from the repulsors. He couldn’t find them. “Dad!”

There, a dark shape, plummeting towards the ground. As it grew closer, Kalen could make out the unmistakable shape of the suit. Pushing down a rising sense of panic, he turned his attention to the tablet. Neither the heads-up display or statistics were working. “Need to reboot Jarvis.” He mumbled, speaking out loud to keep his head clear, and set about running the emergency reboot protocol.

He glanced up. Tony was still falling, though he seemed more controlled, Kalen silently thanked him for insisting they had a manual release for the stabilising flaps. Jarvis was mid-reboot, there was nothing Kalen could do. His eyes flicked from the screen to Tony, who was dangerously close to the ground, praying Jarvis would recover in time. Tony disappeared behind the buildings in the city, Kalen squeezed shut his eyes…

A cheer erupted from the earpiece. Kalen opened his eyes, Jarvis had fully rebooted. “Dad?” Kalen called. Tony flew overhead and whooped with joy. 

“It’s going to take more than a little ice to take me out!” He shouted. They dissolved into hysterical, but relieved laughter.


	5. If There's a Reason I'm Still Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the successful test flight, Kalen's in the highest of spirits. Until he isn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a head's up, I've added a scene to the beginning of the first chapter that was going to be later on but it makes more sense first.  
> Thanks for reading!

**October 2009**

Kalen couldn't keep a smile from his face as he filled out a not-at-all-complicated multiplication worksheet, his free hand tapping a merry tune on the table as he worked. Last night's successful flight had Kalen filled to the brim with a mix of pride and elation, even though Tony insisted on cutting the night short to attend a charity gala. Not even Tony's stony mood over breakfast could dampen Kalen's spirits.

Jason leaned over, "I've never seen you so happy doing maths, and that's saying something."

"It's a good day," Kalen shrugged, still grinning. "Plus, maths is fun."

"It is when your brain is basically a calculator." Jason teased, playfully prodding Kalen's arm. "Why's today such a good day?" Kalen shrugged again and turned back to his worksheet, but he could feel Jason's eyes boring into the back of his head. "You saw it too, didn't you."

Kalen's hand froze mid calculation, and his shoulders stiffened. He spoke without looking up. "Saw what?"

"That thing flying over the fairground last night. Ali Chen said it almost crashed into her car on the freeway."

Kalen's pencil clattered from his hand, which he squeezed into a fist, and jerked his head away from Jason's stare. "I don't know what you're talking about. I-I didn't see anything" His voice came out strained, and about an octave higher than usual.

"Really? Don't you live right around there?" Jason pressed, eyeing Kalen as he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.

"Boys, quiet." Mrs Parsons called across the room.

Jason dipped his voice to a low whisper, "You really didn't see it?"

Kalen shook his head a little too quickly. Grabbing his pencil, he hunched forward and scribbled more answers on his paper. Jason leaned back in his chair, watching Kalen's behaviour, before focusing again on his own work.

Kalen sped through his worksheet in record time, throwing his hand in the air after scrawling the final answer. Mrs Parson glanced up from her desk, giving Kalen a curt nod to speak. "I've finished."

A series of groans rumbled from his disgruntled classmates who had those two words more times then they cared to count. Kalen had grown used to them by now and paid no attention. Mrs Parsons beckoned him over. He picked up the worksheet and walked to the front of the class, pretending not to notice the stares he was getting, and handed her the papers.

She checked through it at long length, hoping to find an error, but eventually had to admit he got them all correct. Sliding her chair back, she opened a drawer in her desk and fished around inside before pulling out a new worksheet and handing it to Kalen. "This is my fifth grade's work, why don't you see if you can make anything of it." She said with a sickly sweet smile.

Kalen made a point of smiling back, "Thank you." He took the work back to his seat and glanced over the contents. Unsurprisingly, they hadn't started to touch on the subject in class, but Kalen had helped build a suit of armour _that could fly,_ adding decimals and fractions was nothing.

When the bell rang at the end of class, Mrs Parsons asked for everyone's work on her desk. Kalen, who had _just_ finished up the last question, made a big deal of putting away his books and pencil case to make sure his work was on top of the pile for Mrs Parsons to see.

Jason grinned as he realised what Kalen was up to and waited for him by the door. "I don't know why she never believes you've finished." He said once they were out of earshot.

"She hasn't liked me from the moment I sat down last year. I hoped we wouldn't have her again." Kalen peered into Mr Harrel's classroom, jumping back in surprise as the door opened.

"Classroom's free all lunch, boys." Mr Harrel smiled, holding the door open for them.

"Thank you, Sir." They chorused. Jason sat on the edge of a table by the window, lazily swinging his legs over the side, while Kalen jumped up next to him and crossed his legs.

"What do you think it was? That thing you saw." Kalen asked cautiously. He wanted to find out precisely what Jason, and apparently others, had seen of the suit.

"I'm not sure. It was too dark at the fairground to see anything more than a shadow. But it almost looked like a shooting star, only it changing direction. Ali Chen said it looked like a silver man, my brother said it looked like aliens."

"It wasn't aliens."

"Ha! So you did see it! I knew you were lying."

"No!" Kalen exclaimed, frantically trying to figure out how to backtrack what he'd said. "I just mean- Aliens don't exist. And if they did, why would they come to..." He trailed off. Jason didn't believe a word he was saying. "Okay," Kalen sighed, "maybe I did see it."

"Why keep it a secret?" Jason's eyes went wide. "Is it to do with your secret project?"

"Look, I- I don't know what I'm supposed to-" Kalen cut himself off as the door flung open.

Reece stood in the doorway, his entourage of friends behind him. Kalen and Jason slid off the table as Reece stalked further into the room, a malicious grin on his face. "Oh," Reece tried to act surprised to see them, "Hey Conway. Didn't expect to see you and your boyfriend here."

Jason stepped in front of Kalen, putting himself between him and Reece, and growled, "Why are you here. Just go away, we don't want you here." 

"Leave it, Jason." Kalen pleaded, tugging on the back of Jason's jumper. "Let's just go."

Jason turned to see the uneasiness in Kalen's eyes, admitting to himself that something about Reece off. He had a dangerous glint in his eye that made him uncomfortable. "Fine." He sighed, moving to grab his bag and sling it over his shoulder.

Reece closed the gap to Kalen with alarming speed. "Do you think you can run away?" He spat. "You're a coward, and you always have been."

Kalen flinched back, causing Reece to snicker. Kalen stood straighter and set his jaw. "I'm not a coward." He said through gritted teeth.

"Is that why you haven't told him the truth, 'cause you're too scared?"

"Shut up." Kalen hissed.

Jason hesitated, unsure what do to. He knew Kalen was hiding something big, something to do with the flying thing, and he desperately wanted to know what. Jason shook his head, _what was he thinking?_ Kalen needed help, it doesn't matter if he has a secret. "Leave him alone, he doesn't have to tell me anything."

"So you don't want to know what he's hiding?" Reece sneered, turning to Jason. "Conway's been lying this whole time, I guess he just doesn't care about you." Reece paused to let the cut sink in. Anger bubbled in Kalen's stomach, he clenched his fists. "What he hasn't told you is-"

Reece didn't get to finish his sentence. Kalen's fists collided with him in a one-two punch, pivoting on his back foot as Happy had taught him. Reece cried out and stumbled backwards, tripping over a chair and hitting the floor. He scrambled away, one hand clasped over his eye, as his friends pulled him up and ran from the room.

Kalen breathed hard, hands trembling as bruises already formed on his knuckles. Jason stared at him, a grin slowly crossing his face. "He had that coming."

"I'm sorry," Kalen whispered, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"Sorry? That was awesome!"

"Sorry that I haven't told you."

"It's okay." Jason bent down to catch Kalen's eye. "I don't care if you have secrets. I know you, and you're great. Reece is just as-"

"A jerk?" Kalen said, a small smile playing at his lips.

"The biggest jerk."

Whatever semblance of a smile that had been present on Kalen's face faded as a voice crackled over the intercom, calling them both to the Principal's office.

Kalen had been relieved when nobody answered at home answered the Principal's call, he didn't feel in the mood to face Tony yet. But as he sat in the backseat of Happy's car, he just wished it to all be over. Happy had barely said a word, he was all for teaching Kalen how to box, but only for self-defence. 

Happy pulled up the driveway and stopped outside the front door. Kalen gave him a weak smile as he opened the car door, mumbling a thank you. Happy only nodded in response before driving away.

Kalen trudged inside, neatly stacking his shoes and bag on the shelf, before following the muffled sound of voices drifting up from the workshop. Halfway down the stair, he made out what they were saying, "Are those bullet holes?"

Kalen ran down the remaining stairs, pausing on the bottom step as he noticed the ground was covered in shattered glass. The floor to ceiling windows had been blown outward, leaving only the thin, white frames behind. He picked his way through the glass, hopping through a framework that used to be the door, and glanced up. His jaw dropped.

Tony stood on the suit assembly platform, struggling against the machine as it tried to rip away sections of the red and gold painted suit he wore. Kalen rushed past Pepper - who was frozen in disbelief - and grabbed his Stark-Tablet, deactivating the machine.

"Thanks, Kay." Tony mumbled, "We designed this thing to come off, I'm not sure why it's not working."

Kalen jumped up onto the platform and fumbled with the manual releases, pausing only for a moment to take in the battle damage marring the suit. "I think I might know." He muttered.

After being freed, Tony sat at his desk, fixing broken wiring inside the chest plate. Kalen saw the same darkness settle behind Tony's eyes from the press conference, the same uneasy feeling washing over him. He tried to think through logical reasons how the suit might have been so beaten up, but none came to mind other than _he was in a fight, a bad fight_. Kalen didn't want to entertain that idea. "Is this the Mark III?" He asked.

Tony nodded once, "Made from gold-titanium alloy, fixed the icing problem."

"And..." Kalen prompted, hoping more answers.

Tony's voice was devoid of emotion, stating facts rather than holding a conversation. "It kept fuselage integrity while maintaining power to weight ratio. Handles great, no ice."

Kalen stepped closer to the suit, running his fingers over the dents and cuts that littered the surface. "What about these?"

"Why are you home from school?" Tony deflected.

Suddenly Kalen didn't feel he should be ashamed, not when Tony had done... whatever it was he'd done. "I punched Reece Hammer." 

Tony raised an eyebrow, the first sign of emotion sinking back in. "God, that kid is even more annoying than his dad."

"Principal Rivera sent me and Jason home for fighting, Happy dropped me off."

Tony slouched back into his desk chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I need you to do something. It's important." Kalen nodded. "Stay away from Obidiah, he's bad news. If you end up near him, find an excuse to get away."

"Does he have something to do with this?"

Tony nodded. "He authorised a shipment of weapons, they were used to attack a city in Afghanistan called Gulmira. I flew there to destroy them."

"I thought the company didn't sell weapons anymore."

"We don't. Obidiah dealt under the table. He's trying to lock me out of the company altogether."

At that moment, Pepper returned - having gathered her thoughts to the point she could form a coherent sentence - and tentatively joined them.

Tony stood, "Are you busy, mind if I send you on an errand?" He didn't wait for a reply. "I need you to go to my office, hack into the mainframe, and retrieve all the recent shipping manifests." He opened a small box and handed Pepper the contents. "This is a Lockchip, it'll get you in. It's probably under executive files, it not you'll need to look through the ghost drives."

"And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here," Pepper asked.

"Same drill. I'm going to find my weapons, and I'm going to destroy them."

Kalen noticed burn marks on Tony's neck from the heated metal, he also noticed how he refused to make eye contact with him.

"Kal, go upstairs." Pepper tried to keep her tone light, "I need to talk to your dad." 

He went without arguing but left the door cracked open so he could hear what they were saying.

"Tony, you know I would help you with anything, but I cannot help if you're going to start all this again."

"There is nothing except this. There's no art opening, no benefit, nothing to sign. There is the next mission."

Tears welled in Pepper's eyes. "When you came back, you told me Kalen would become your top priority. You've not changed at all. It hurts _me_ to see you like this, imagine what Kal's feeling."

"I'm doing this _for_ him, one day he's going to take over the company. He shouldn't have to take over all of my mistakes as well, he doesn't deserve that. If I can clean up the mess I've made, then Kay gets a clean start, a clear shot to do things I can't even imagine. He's always been against weapons production, Pep, and he's eight."

"I have half a mind to quiz right now, but someone has to look after Kal." She tossed the Lockchip onto his desk and turned to leave.

"You stood by my all these years while I reaped the benefit of destruction, and now that I'm trying to protect the people that _I_ put in harm's way you're going to walk out?"

"You're going to get yourself killed, Tony, and I'm not going to be a part of that. Neither should Kal, but you already dragged him in with you."

Tony collapsed into his chair, dropping his head into his hands," I shouldn't be alive unless it's for a reason."

"I can think of a reason."

"I'm not crazy, Pepper." Tony sighed, "I just finally know what I have to do." Tears misted in his eyes, "And I know in my heart that it's right. There are kids like Kalen out there having their families ripped apart, being killed by _my_ weapons. I can't let that be my legacy."

Pepper's shoulders relaxed, she returned to the desk and picked up the Lockchip before making for the door. Kalen scrambled to his feet and ran upstairs, his thoughts reeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Next chapter in a week and it's a long one!


	6. The Blood We Shed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kalen has a bit of a day

Jason was at home, sick, so Kalen meandered to the bus alone, replaying Tony and Pepper's argument from yesterday. Ominous grey clouds set in with alarming speed, casting a shadow as far as the eye could see. He watched the first raindrops land on the window, subconsciously moving his hand to cover the scar on his shoulder.

By the time the bus pulled to his stop, rain fell in torrential sheets. Kalen tugged on the hood of his raincoat and followed the other students off the bus, not noticing that Reece, too, got to his feet.

The path ahead of him soon cleared as students dashed home in a futile attempt to avoid getting drenched. Kalen didn't mind about getting wet, his mind so preoccupied that he didn't have the space to care. He walked mindlessly, no one was out driving in this weather, and Kalen knew the way home like the back of his hand.

Pain exploded in the back of his head. He stumbled forward, tripping over his feet and crashing to his hands and knees. Scrambling back to his feet, he spun around. Finding himself face to face with Reece, his eye black and swollen from yesterday.

Kalen tugged his hood off to increase his vision, which was already blurred from the blow to the head. He caught sight of his hands, covered in a litany of cuts from the pavement; presumably, his knees fared the same.

Reece's wet hair stuck to his face in clumps, only adding to the terrifying look that settled across his features. Before Kalen could react, Reece lunged forward and drove his fist into his stomach. Kalen doubled over and gasped to catch his breath. Reece brought a knee up to Kalen's head, sending Kalen spawling backwards to the floor.

Once more, Kalen stumbled to his feet, his sodden clothes clinging to him like ivy to a tree, and he held up his fists. He risked a quick glance around.

Reece laughed, deep and menacing. "There's no one to save you." He yelled as the wind picked up, buffetting both boys. Reece threw a lazy punch to Kalen's side, he sidestepped it with ease, but his blurred vision caused him to miss Reece's leg poised to trip him. He fell onto the grass verge hard, landing on his arm with a sickening crunch and cried out in pain.

Kalen looked up just in time to see Reece's fist coming down on him and rolled out of the way, ending up in the overflowing gutter at the edge of the road.

Reece was there in an instant, hammering blow after blow. Kalen threw his arm over his head and curled into a ball, unable to escape the reign of attacks upon him. He was sure he was screaming, but couldn't hear for the blood rushing in his ears.

Just as soon as it started, the attack stopped. Kalen didn't move, fearing Reece was playing a cruel trick.

"Kal, is that you? What the hell...?"

Kalen inched his head upwards, Rhodey was charging across the road towards him. He knelt by his side and assessed his injuries. "Talk to me, Kal. What happened."

"Reece," he mumbled, trying to think through the throbbing pain in his head. And everywhere else.

"We need to go, can you stand?"

Kalen nodded and, with the help of Rhodey, eased himself to his feet and into Rhodey's car.

Rhodey eyed his soaked clothing in the rearview mirror. "I'll turn the heating up, take off that coat and jumper. You'll warm up faster." He ordered as they raced through the streets.

"Where are we going?" Kalen murmured.

"Pepper thinks Tony could be in danger."

Within a few minutes, Rhodey pulled to a stop outside the mansion and ordered Kalen to stay put as he leapt out of the car. Ignoring him, and fueled by a mix of panic and adrenaline, Kalen stumbled from the car and followed Rhodey inside.

The sitting room was a mess, cushions were strewn across the floor. The coffee table had been shoved against the sofa, and its contents scattered. Rhodey ran through the house, shouting Tony's name.

A crash from downstairs. Kalen snapped his head towards the sound and charged down to the workshop, Rohey not far behind. Tony was lying on his side, half propped up on something Kalen couldn't see and surrounded by shattered glass.

Kalen skidded to his knees by his side and heaved him onto his back, gasping at the gaping hole where Tony's arc reactor should have been.

"No," Rhodey whispered beside him, grabbing Tony's wrist in search of a pulse. Kalen tuned him out as his mind raced, trying to piece together what had happened.  _ Struggle upstairs, must have used the lift to get down, but why come down at all? _

It clicked into place. Kalen leaned over Tony, cutting his hands on the broken glass of the present Pepper had given him. The first reactor. He ripped it from the pedestal and, hoping he remembered what to do, reached the reactor's wire into Tony's chest and connected it to the base plate before locking the reactor into place.

Seconds ticked by. Rhodey shook Tony's shoulder, whispering, "C'mon, Tones. Breathe."

Tony's eyes fluttered open, he took in the two faces leaning over him, one smiling, one bloody. "What happened to you?" He asked in a raspy voice.

"Nothing."

Tony's eyes darkened, his voice turning gruff. "Where's Pepper?"

"She's fine," Rhodey answered, "She's with five agents, they're about to arrest Obidiah."

"That's not going to be enough." Tony pulled himself up with the help of Rhodey and stumbled across the workshop.

"What's going on? What agents?" Kalen asked.

"Obidiah built a suit. He stole my reactor, Pepper's in danger. Everyone's is."

Kalen sat on the kitchen counter. He hadn't moved since Rhodey patched up his injuries, including a makeshift sling for his arm, and rushed to the airbase. He  _ had  _ to get to the Stark Industries Headquarters, he  _ had _ to help Tony stop Obidiah. Instead, he sat there, utterly useless. He'd tried phoning Pepper, but there was no answer, maybe she already knew.

Maybe it was already too late.

The front door swung open, starting Kalen from his thoughts. He slid off the counter and ducked behind it, fearing Obidiah had come to finish the job.

"Tony? You in?" Called Happy.

Kalen sprung up, a plan already forming. "Hey, Mister Happy!" He beamed, "Dad's at the Headquarters. Some sort of emergency, apparently."

Happy looked him up and down, "What the hell happened to you? And why were you hiding behind the counter?"

"I got in a fight, I really need to talk to Dad about it. Would you take me?"

Happy thought for a moment, eventually speaking. "Okay, let's go." A smile crept onto Kalen's face once Happy's back was turned.

The car ride to LA seemed to last forever, Kalen willed the traffic to clear to get there faster. After  _ a lot _ of convincing, an increasingly exasperated Happy dropped Kalen a few streets away and went back to wait at the house. Kalen didn't want him in harm's way.

Night was beginning to set in, the rain had eased up but not yet stopped. The crunch of metal on metal filled the air, followed by screams and car horns from the road below the Headquarters. Kalen raced forward, splashing through puddles and pushing past confused people.

The scene he was greeted with was ugly, the three-lane freeway had turned into a mass pile-up of cars, some flipped in their backs while others smoked and crackled with fire. People were wrestling themselves free of their vehicles and fleeing from the two metal suits locking in battle. 

Obidiah's armour closely resembled Tony's first iteration, big and bulky, Towering over Tony's frame.

Car alarms assaulted Kalen's ears, and the smell of burning crept into his nose. He ran through the oncoming crowd, ignoring their shouts for him to turn around, and into the car crash before him. Checking every car window for trapped passengers on the way. 

A lady shouted for help. He followed the voice to a car sandwiched nose to tail with two others, the bonnet crumpled up from the impact. A baby cried in the backseat. "Help!" The lady yelled, "My baby, please help her!"

"Can you get out?" Kalen shouted over the noise as he forced her door open.

She shook her head, "My seatbelt, it's stuck." She pressed the button and uselessly tugged at the belt. "Just get Amy safe!"

"Hang on." Kalen ducked down and searched the floor. Grabbing a jagged scrap of metal, he leaned over the woman and cut her free of the belt. It was slow work, but eventually, he cut through.

"Can you walk?" Kalen asked as he flung open the back door and picked up the baby. She nodded and took her child from him.

"Thank you. You saved our lives!"

"Just get far away." Kalen was already looking for the next person, trying to push away the thought of what was happening ahead. He couldn't. Glancing up, he saw Obidiah catch Tony with a mighty blow that sent him sprawling across the other side of the freeway.

More screams for help, muffled this time. Kalen scanned for the source. A bus, dangerously close to the fighting, whose doors appeared to be locked shut, despite the best efforts of the passengers inside.

As he ran forward, Kalen pulled off his sling and grabbed the metal scrap he could manage. He risked another glimpse at Tony, Obidiah held him overhead and threw him to the ground, the sound almost deafening. Kalen winced and ducked behind the bus, using the scrap as a crowbar to force open the doors.

Sweat gleamed on his forehead but, eventually, the doors opened enough for the automatic opener to kick in. Passengers streamed off, Kalen guided them away.

"Lewis? Where are you?" Someone stopped running and looked around, Kalen ran to his side. "My son," The man said, "He was holding my hand and now..." He looked at his empty hand.

Without a second thought, Kalen charged onto the bus and searched for the child. He was hiding under one of the seats, only a couple of years younger than Kalen himself.

"C'mon." Kalen coaxed. The boy didn't move. "Your dad's just outside." At the mention of his dad, the boy looked up and slowly crawled from his hiding spot, his eyes widening as he looked over Kalen's shoulder. Kalen turned, watching the scene out of the window. 

Obidiah kicked Tony in the chest and sent him flying towards the bus. Kalen grabbed the boy's shirt and shoved him down the bus towards the door milliseconds before Tony tore through the bus, landing heavily against the far wall.

"Kay! What are you doing here?" Get out!" Tony's voice had a robotic quality through the suit.

Kalen glanced at the father and son reuniting outside the bus, Tony followed his gaze and sighed, "Okay, just go to Pepper. Now. She's outside the HQ." He pushed himself up, nodded at Kalen, and hurtled back towards Obidiah.

Happy that no one else was in danger, Kalen did as he was told and ran to the main entrance of the Headquarters. He was sweaty and out of breath by the time he arrived. Only when he stopped moving did he realise how badly his body ached, his adrenaline beginning to wear off.

"Auntie Pepper." He panted, she spun around and her face contorted with shock.

"Kal! What are you doing here?" He was getting that a lot recently.

"Dad was in trouble."

"You're hurt, are you okay?"

Kalen nodded, but his face told a different story. Behind him, Tony shot into the air. Obidiah rose at a slower pace but followed him nonetheless.

"What's he doing?" Pepper asked as Tony all but disappeared from view.

The corner of Kalen's mouth turned up. "Ice." He muttered, Pepper looked confused. "Obidiah's suit won't be able to handle high altitudes because of a build-up of ice," He explained. "Dad's armour won't ice up."

Concern knitted Pepper's face. Kalen wished he'd picked up his earpiece from the workshop before leaving. He looked up, shielding his eyes from the rain, waiting for something, anything, to happen.

After an agonising wait, something crashed through the clouds, hurtling towards the ground. It was unmistakably Obidiah's suit. Pepper covered her mouth as she watched him fall, vaguely aware that Kalen probably shouldn't watch a man plummet to his death and half-heartedly sidestepped to block his view.

Kalen kept his focus on the clouds, waiting for Tony to appear. He dropped into view, the thrusters spluttering on and off, causing Tony to fall short distances before catching himself again.

"What's happening?" Pepper asked as she noticed him.

"The old reactor was designed for sustained flight, it's running out of power. It's a good job you kept it, you saved his life."

Tony landed hard on the roof of the Headquarters, Kalen could just about make out his voice through Pepper's Bluetooth. "Potts?"

"Tony! Oh my God, are you okay?"

"I'm almost out of power, I need to get out of this thing. Please tell me Kay is with you."

"He is. He's right here."

"I'll be right there-" TOny was cut off by a booming voice that could be heard even without the suit communications.

"Nice try, Tony, but you can't get rid of me that easy," Obidiah said.

Kalen stood too close to the building to see, but judging by the sounds, the two men were locked in battle once again.

"Potts, this isn't working. We're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof." Pepper's eyes fell on the full-sized arc reactor inside the Headquarters. "Go to the central console, open up all the circuits and when I'm clear, hit the master bypass button."

"Okay," Pepper said shakily. "I'm going in now." Tentatively, she walked through the smashed glass, that used to be the Headquarters's windows, and moved towards the reactor. Kalen followed her inside, the glass crunching underfoot, and went straight for the circuit switches.

"Kal, get back!" Pepper instructed.

Kalen shook his head, "I know how this works, and we need speed right now."

Pepper saw the same stubborn look Tony often wore and knew she wouldn't be able to change his mind. Besides, he was right. Tony didn't have much time, and Kalen knew his way around the reactor like the back of his hand.

Tony crashed onto the glass roof over their heads, cracking the glass but not entirely shattering it. Kalen glanced up to see a hail of bullets flying towards Tony, most of them hitting the glass and finally sending it raining down.

"Look out!" Kalen shouted, pulling Pepper into the half cover under the console. When he looked back up, Tony clung to the beams with nothing but his own strength to stop him tumbling into the reactor core.

Kalen reached over the console, hitting the buttons marked 'Nitrogen Coolant Pump' and 'Palladium Gas' and nodded to Pepper. She flipped up the safety cover over the bypass button, her hand poised to press down.

"It's ready," She shouted up to Tony. "Get clear of the roof!"

An explosion rocked the building, one of Obidiah's rockets. "Push the button!" Tony yelled.

"You'll die!"

A second explosion, this time much closer to Tony and loosened his grip, causing him to drop down, just managing to catch himself with one hand. "Push it!" Tony looked down, seeing Kalen's wide, tear-filled eyes for the first time. He hesitated, screwing up his face before speaking. "Just do it!"

In the second it took Pepper to hit the bypass, Tony locked eyes with Kalen. The stress of the fight melting from his face as it turned upwards in a sad smile, trying to communicate a thousand words in a single expression.

Pepper grabbed Kalen's arm and tugged him away, tearing his eyes from Tonys. Electricity crackled through the room like lightning, ear-splitting creaks and groans echoed from the reactor as it overloaded and shot a blinding beam of energy upwards. The only thing louder than the reactor was Obidiah's screams. As the beam hit the clouds, thunder rattled across the sky and lightning danced through the gloom.

A moment of silence.

Kalen looked back into the building, the dark shape of Obidiah's suit toppled through the hole in the roof and crashed down into the reactor. As he hit the core, whatever remained of the reactor exploded. An enormous fireball overtook the building, escaping through the windows and doors before reaching up to the sky. The force of the blast knocked Kalen and Pepper to the ground.

Fires crackled from every surface inside the Headquarters, thick black smoke threatened to overwhelm Kalen even from this distance. He turned to Pepper, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "You?"

Kalen pushed himself to his feet, wiping his sooty hands on his jeans, not that it made much difference, and stared up at the roof. "Should probably call the fire department..." Pepper didn't bother, sirens already wailed through the city, there was no way anyone missed that explosion. 

Rain poured down, slicking Kalen's curls to his head and running tracks through his soot-covered face, but still he stared at the roof. Waiting. Hoping.

Nothing.

He couldn't take it. Kalen took off running, ignoring Pepper's shouts, and ducked under one of the fallen window frames. Firelight sent foreboding shadows flickering up the walls, and the smoke burned his eyes. Kalen pulled his sleeve over his hand and covered his nose and mouth. He tried not to think about the dark shape hanging in the reactor core as he raced past roaring fires towards the stairwell.

Kalen reached out for the door handle and cried out in pain as the searing metal burned his hand. Tugging down his other sleeve, he threw open the door and charged upstairs, thankful for the cleaner air as he climbed. He burst onto the rooftop and surveyed the scene.

Tony lay, unmoving, alongside the hole in the roof, dangerously close to tipping in. Kalen approached cautiously, not wanting to shift the rubble Tony rested on and send them both crashing into the core. He knelt beside his dad, watching the miniaturised reactor flicker in his chest.

"Dad." He whispered, gently shaking his shoulder. The reactor sparked again, brighter this time, then brighter still. Then it stayed on, radiating its familiar, comforting hum. Tony's eyes shot open, he struggled to sit up, but Kalen held him still. "Careful," He warned. Tony looked to his side and noticed the situation.

"What happened?"

"We overloaded it, I think it charged your reactor. Obidiah, he... Pepper's outside."

"I say it's high time we joined her. Unless you wanted to stay in this hell hole."

Kalen grinned, not even a near-death teetering on the edge of death rattled Tony's nerves. He backed away slowly, Tony followed close behind. He picked up Kalen and flew down to the ground, setting him down in front of a relieved looking Pepper. Before anyone could speak, a car pulled into the car park beside them. Rhodey stepped out, taking in everything from the burning building to their soot coated clothes.

"Is it over?" He asked.

"Why, did you want a turn?"

Rhodey chuckled, looking at the damaged suit, "Kinda."

Tony nodded, dropping his playful smile. "Thanks for keeping the army out of this."

"No problem."

The four of them watched the building burn. An ambulance arrived, and a man in a neat, black suit stepped out, walking towards the group. "Hello again."

"Agent Coulson." Tony greeted with a nod.

"Mr Stark, we need to get you clear of the scene and checked over, we have a complex close by with full medical facilities. You're all welcome to come." Coulson eyed Kalen, "I don't believe we've met."

Kalen glanced at Tony, who in turn shared a long look with Pepper, eventually turning back to Coulson. "This is Kalen Stark. My son."

"Your son?" Coulson asked, seemingly most shocked by this out of everything that happened this evening. "I didn't see that one coming. It's very nice to meet you, Kalen, I'm Agent Phil Coulson of SHIELD."

"I see you fixed the name," Tony muttered, "That other one is so long I can barely remember it."

"You also can't remember what day of the week it is." Rhodey deadpanned.

"Saturday?" Tony asked. Pepper closed her eyes and shook her head, Rhodey smirked as his point was proved. "Tuesday? Look, the real question is what do we do about that." He pointed to the smouldering Headquarters.

"Our damage control team will clear up. I'd suggest making plans to rebuild." 

"Hmm," Tony hummed, "I have been thinking about branching out, building an east coast Headquarters. Maine, maybe."

"Don't people go lobster fishing there? They kinda scare me." Kalen said.

"Alright, not Maine. How about New York?"

Pepper cut in, "How about we focus on getting you two looked at first, and plan potential expansions later."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!  
> Next chapter will be the last part of Iron Man. Then I have a little something else before Iron Man II starts!


	7. History Has Its Eyes on You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is coming a few days early in celebration of the Hamilton film coming in July!! I'm a fan if the chapter titles didn't give that away already   
> *Cue Hamilton themed party*   
> Is anyone else excited? Just me?

Kalen spent the night in a SHIELD complex in downtown Los Angeles, having his injuries tended to. They'd even been kind enough to offer him a private room. An x-ray confirmed Rhdoey's suspicion that Kalen's arm was broken, and now in a cast, as well as two fractured ribs on his left side. He also had an assortment of cuts, bruises, and burns spanning his entire body but, thankfully, nothing too serious.

He sat on the edge of his bed in jeans and a hoodie that Coulson had hunted down as his own clothes were bloodstained and burned. The door clicked open, and Tony walked in, also having spent the night surrounded by doctors, and sat next to Kalen. It was their first moment alone since Kalen left for school that morning, it felt like years ago.

"Are you okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. The doctor's said I'm lucky not to be hurt too badly."

"They told me that too." Tony leaned forward to put himself in Kalen's eye line. "But are you okay? A hell of a lot has happened, it's okay if you need some time."

Kalen hesitated, he hadn't really stopped to let the events sink in. It still felt like a crazy dream that he'd yet to wake up from. "I think so. It all just feels strange."

"I get that," Tony nodded. "Rhodey told me what Reece, I swear I'm going to get that kid expelled. I don't want him anywhere near you."

"No!" Kalen jumped in, "I don't want to make a fuss and have everyone at school find out. He's going to middle school next year anyway."

"Kay, he attacked you. I can't let that slide."

"Please?" Kalen flashed his puppy-dog eyes, knowing Tony couldn't resist them.

"I'll think about it."

There was a knock at the door, they turned to see Pepper standing in the doorframe. "They're ready for you."

Tony gave her a nod. "Time to go, Captain."

Kalen winced as he slipped from the bed and followed Pepper out of the complex and into the waiting car outside. They didn't talk much as Happy drove to the conference hall, Kalen even got some much needed sleep on the way. Happy pulled up, and the trio headed straight to a private room to the side of the main hall. Coulson greeted them with a warm smile.

Pepper sat Tony down so she could cover his bruises with makeup while Coulson handed him a set of blue cards. "This is your alibi, you were on your yacht. We have port papers and sworn statements from fifty of your guests to prove it."

"I was thinking, maybe we could say it was just Pepper and me on the yacht," Tony suggested. Pepper ripped a steri-strip from Tony's eyebrow and gave him  _ the look _ .

"That's what happened, just read it word for word."

Tony scanned through the cards, frowning, "There's nothing about Stane here."

"That's being handled. He's on vacation, small aircraft have a terrible safety record."

Kalen watched the whole exchange from an armchair across from Tony, noticing how calm Coulson seemed. He didn't know whether to be impressed or worried.

"There's one other thing. We have options but thought we should let you decide how to handle it." He handed Tony a newspaper. The front cover showed a picture of Tony, fully suited in the armour, under the headline 'Who is the Iron Man?'

"That's kinda catchy," Tony hummed. "Of course, it's actually a gold titanium alloy-"

"Page three."

Tony opened the paper curiously, eyes widening as he read on. Kalen leaned over to peek at the page and was surprised to be looking at a blurred picture of his own face. 'Young Hero Save Lives in Attack' written at the top of the article.

"They don't know it's Kalen yet, but with his picture and mobile footage being circulated, it's only a matter of time until someone recognises you. Again, we're going to follow your lead on this one."

"What do you think, Kay?" Tony asked. Kalen looked at the screen behind him where Rhodey was delivering a speech to the press.

"I don't want that," he said, "I don't want to be followed by paparazzi all my life."

"I think you picked the wrong family for that," Tony smirked. "But we'll do whatever you want."

Coulson spoke up, "In that case, I suggest you ride it out, most likely the media will move on by the end of the week." He glanced at the screen, "You've got ninety seconds." He made his exit, Pepper followed leaving Tony and Kalen alone.

Tony waved his cue cards, "What do you think about this?"

"It's good," Kalen shrugged.

"Now tell me what you really think."

"You want to help people, right? That's what you and Auntie Pepper were arguing about the other night. If you carry on, the bodyguard story won't work. I wouldn't believe it."

"Hmm," Tony hummed. "You weren't supposed to hear that argument." Before he could continue, Pepper reentered the room holding a jacket. "Let's get this show on the road." Tony got to his feet, letting Pepper help him into the jacket.

"You know, if I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. She'd be a wreck, always worrying if I was going to die, but she'd be immensely proud of the man I've become." He turned and looked her in the eye, dropping his voice to a whisper so quiet Kalen couldn’t hear.

Pepper gazed into Tony's eyes. Kalen held up the newspaper to cover the smile on his face but peered over the top as the two stepped closer. Pepper caught him watching and moved back, "Will that be all, Mister Stark?"

"Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts." Tony grinned at Kalen before heading out to wait for his cue from Rhodey. Kalen and Pepper turned their attention to the screen.

_ "And now, Mister Stark has prepared a statement. He won't be taking any questions." _

Tony hopped on stage and took his place behind the podium.  _ "It's been a while since I've been up here, I figure I'll stick to the cards this time."  _ The press chucked, Tony cleared his throat before reading from the cards.  _ “There’s been speculation that I was involved with the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop-” _

A reporter cut him off.  _ “I’m sorry, do you honestly expect us to believe that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared?” _

_ “I know it’s confusing. It is one thing to question the official story and another thing entirely to make wild accusations or insinuate that I’m a superhero.” _

"What's he doing, all he has to do is read the cards," Pepper muttered. Kalen watched the exchange with bated breath.

_ “I never said you were a superhero. In fact, I think the biggest hero was the defenceless boy who ran into danger to save lives, we’ve all seen the mobile phone footage.” _

_ “I actually agree, what he did was brave, a little stupid but incredibly brave.”  _ Tony looked directly down the camera lens, Kalen couldn't help but giggle at the jab.

Rhodey whispered something in Tony's ear, he nodded and turned back to the cards in his hand, holding them up as he read on.  _ "The truth is..." _

"Don't..." Pepper whispered. Kalen grinned, he could see the determination in Tony's eyes, he knew what was coming before it was even said.

_ "I am Iron Man." _

It was dark by the time they'd arrived home, Tony had been caught at the press conference for most of the day. Kalen yawned as Tony unlocked the door and pushed it open. An alarm beeped from inside. "Stay behind me," Tony instructed as he entered, trying to search through the darkness inside. "Jarvis?"

"Welcome home, Sir." The AI's voice distorted and died into nothing. Tony slowed as he entered the living room. A single lamp was on, Kalen was just able to make out a figure behind the sofa, overlooking the sea.

"'I am Iron Man'" The figure's voice carried power. "You think you're the only superhero in the world? You've become part of a bigger universe, you just don't know it yet." The figure turned towards them, but his face was shrouded in shadow.

"Who the hell are you?" Tony tuck Kalen behind his leg. 

The figure stepped into the lamplight, "Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD. I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative."

"Huh," Tony nodded. "Is it okay if I put my son to bed first? I'm sure Coulson filled you in."

"He may have mentioned it," Fury gestured towards the stairs, "Be my guest."

"You broke into my house, so technically you're my guest. Could have just phoned. And feel free to turn a light on." Tony said, steering Kalen up to his room.

Once they were out of earshot, Kalen spoke up. "How long do you think he's been waiting?"

"He seems to have a flair for the dramatic, I wouldn't put it past him to have been there for hours."

"He set up that whole lamp thing as well." Kalen giggled.

Tony laughed along with him. "Hurry up and get to bed, I don't want to leave the guy alone too long." Tony kissed the top of Kalen's head before jogging back downstairs. Kalen brushed his teeth, changed into his pyjamas, and crawled into bed, falling asleep almost the second his head hit the pillow.

* * *

**One Week Later**

"Happy birthday!" Everyone clapped as Kalen blew out the candles on the cake Pepper baked for him.

"Here’s an extra special present from me." Tony handed him the gift. Kalen tore it open and revealed a hilariously oversized Iron Man hoodie, laughing as he tugged it on. "Didn't take them long to start capitalising on me."

Kalen giggled as he flapped around the too-long sleeves. "How did they make it so fast?"

"When people see profit they get to work."

Rhodey snorted, "Rich coming from you. You've been hamming up Iron Man at every opportunity."

Tony rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "Do you like it, Captain?"

"I love it!"

Just for a moment, Kalen forgot about Reece, his fractured ribs, the cast on his arm. Forgot the sight of Stane's body in the arc reactor and how he'd almost lost Tony for the second time this year.

And, just for a moment, as he watched his son beam up at him, Tony forgot about the riddle of his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo that's Iron Man done and dusted! Hope you enjoyed reading this far through and stick around for Iron Man II which will be premiering next Friday, with a different fic being posted this Friday!


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